Life Of A Hammer Brother Remake!
by CoolPrisoner93
Summary: Remake of the classic story you've grown to love, except better. (Probably)
1. Chapter 1: Bowser Day

**Hey. So I'm not normally the biggest fan of doing these bits at the beginning of chapters, but I suppose I will. I have no good explanation for why I haven't posted anything in forever, so all I can do is apologize. This is merely an updated version of this first chapter, with the other 2 coming shortly. After that new chapters will be coming out at a hopefully semi-consistent rate.`**

Hi. My name is Carl, Carl the Hammer Brother. I should probably go into more detail. We look sort of like turtles, but we're yellow and stand on two feet. We have a weird helmet that I think honestly looks kinda off, but we're given it at birth and told not to remove it. Someone I knew did and MAN did his hair look ugly.

Oh, sorry, off track.

I live in a place known as Bowser City with my mother and father. There they run a popular deli that I'm forced to work at. Alright forced might not be the best word... I love working there, don't get me wrong but, it feels like a bit of a dead end. I love my parents but I don't want to be 50 years old, stuck running some deli because I can't get a job elsewhere. They claim most of their fame was because of me, and that they rarely had any business before I showed up. I don't buy it. I mean, my job is just working the counter out front. Boring really, just pounding and slicing meat, putting it in a bag, and giving it to hungry people. My true forte is with my hammers though. Naturally I'm talented with them, being a Hammer Brother and all, it's in our DNA; but neither my mother or father can use them as well as I can. They're both mostly identical to me aside from a beard on my father and their more... shriveled appearance. My parents are the sweetest people in the world, they really are.

Anyways, I don't like to tell them, but my real dream is to join Bowser's Army. Bowser City is of course right in front of his castle, and the only land in his Kingdom that isn't taken up by his Castle or its courtyard. He's kind of our King, however he mostly takes care of business outside of the public eye.

Sorry, I'm getting off topic again.

Where was I? Oh yeah, so even though my job is rather boring I have my hammer skills to entertain me, and my friends to keep me company. Well, I really only have two friends.

The first is a Flutter named Violet. Flutter's are a sub-species of Wigglers, which are these long orange and yellow caterpillars, with boots and a flower on their head. Flutter's are similar but have white wings with blue circles on them. She's super nice and, alongside my other friend Ted, wants to join Bowser's Army just about as much as I do.

Ted is a Spiny, a small quadruped turtle that's 70% shell and 30% a yellowish orange body. His shell is bright red with white spikes and a thick white brim that extends slightly over his face. I promise it's less creepy in person.

All 3 of us have something... odd about us, as well as a reason why we're not allowed into the Army. My oddity is less severe, just a birthmark on my right hand. My mother swears up and down that it resembles a hammer, but I think it just looks like a pickaxe... or a blob. As for my reason for not entering the Army... I'll admit that I'm just too scared to do it. Violet's wings are different than that of other Flutters; being light blue with purple flowers on them. Come to think of it that's probably why she's named Violet. Bowser denied her application because well, Wigglers and Flutters are a grey area. Most live in the Mushroom Kingdom, however there are some, like her parents, that defected. So while there are a ton of Wigglers that live in both kingdoms, she is still considered a defect, which are automatically not allowed in his Military. Ted meanwhile has a weakspot on his back. His dad's a Spiny like he is, however his mother is a Mandibug. Mandibugs are these purple beetles with big pincers on the front of their face. The bad thing about them is the giant unprotected target on their back. Ted is missing one of his spikes in the center of his shell, replaced by one of the targets. It's small but it means that someone could stomp on him pretty easily.

So yeah, we're all strange misfits. Introductions aside, our story begins in Bowser City, not to be confused with Neo Bowser City by the way. Hammer Street, appropriately named for us, is where the deli is located. We run the shop out of the first floor while we live directly above it. This is a usual day, lunch rush had just started so naturally I was sitting at the counter doing my usual routine. Ted has nothing going on so he usually comes by around when we open up. He's obsessed with coming up with a battle strategy that will get him into the Army; claims that's what's holding him back. Violet is a mail woman, so she's busy until about 12:00. It was noon so of course Ted was drawing out a new tactic and Violet had just arrived. I tossed her usual order at her as she sat down. She opened it up and took a bite, leaning over to get a look at Ted's drawing.

"Ugh, you're getting crumbs all over my paper!" Ted growled. He has a low grumbly voice, suited for a General, while Violet's is a real girly girl voice.

"Om-nom-sorry Ted-nom." She replied, eating quickly.

Ted looked up in disgust, staring her in the eyes.

"And chew with your mouth closed."

Violet swallowed her bite before letting out a soft giggle.

"So, what are you working on?"

"My latest and greatest plan!" He replied with a rare sense of excitement.

He held up a picture of him in front of a red variant of Toad, a mushroom-human hybrid creature. In the drawing Ted was jumping up in the air towards the Toad, his shell facing forwards.

"Hmmm. One problem there." Violet commented.

"Yes, what is it?" He replied.

She fluttered up out of her chair and towards the small turtle until she was hovering over him. She gently placed her hand on the larget target on Ted's back, causing him to wince in slight pain.

"That."

"GAAAAHHHHHH!" He shouted.

He proceeded to throw the piece of paper in the air, before spinning violently, shredding it into pieces. The deli was fairly crowded, so now everyone was staring at him intently. I handed someone a sandwich before chiming in.

"Why don't you just do that?"

Ted looked at me in disbelief before sighing, a frown returning to his face.

"How would I get the enemy above me?"

"I don't know, think of something." I responded, waving goodbye to a customer who was leaving.

"I was hoping I'd finally have something to show this Bowser Day." He sighed in anguish.

Ah, Bowser Day. Once every other week Bowser rides through town in his Bowser Mobile, this giant purple car covered in spikes. It's mostly to check on how the city is doing, however people are allowed to stand out on the side of the road and wave him down. Though if he pulls over you should usually have a question or concern, a lot of people just shake his hand and thank him for running our land as wonderfully as he does. You would think he'd be mad but he's actually really nice, thanking people and saying "Hi" to the children that pass him by.

Anyways today was one of them, signaled by the noticeably large tires screeching on the road just then. The crowd of hungry customers abandoned the store to flood onto the sidewalks, watching the powerful monarch drive on by.

I wasn't allowed to leave the counter and Ted was too embarrassed, so only Violet went out to see him. She apologized before flying away as fast as her pretty wings could. I could see only through a minuscule gap out the window, where I watched Bowser pull over. However he stopped the car and stepped out, something he never usually did. All of a sudden Violet busted through the doors and began whisper-yelling.

"he's coming! quick!" Before sitting back down at her table, cowering. I looked at her in confusion until yet again someone smashed the doors open. It was him. It was Bowser. I was in shock. I couldn't believe it. Bowser, KING Bowser, was in my small town deli. He took a few massive steps towards the counter, looking around. Then he turned to me, with an enormous smile covering his face.

"Bwa ha ha! Well hello there!" He roared.

A crowd soon surrounded the shop, cameras from people and news stations alike.

"H-h-hi t-there L-Lord Bo-Bowser." I stuttered.

He's my hero, my IDOL! Truly worthy of the title King.

"Don't worry kid, lighten up! I'm here for a sandwich!"

"R-really?"

"Of course! Kamek told me this place was really good, so I had to check it out."

How could we have forgotten Kamek's visit so soon? It was yet another honorable visit. Kamek has been Bowser's right hand man for as long as I can remember. A powerful dark magic user who had raised Bowser from birth. He had spent centuries perfecting the dark arts. But, back to now. I was absolutely stunned. I squeaked a little as he observed our menu options.

"I'll have a roast beef sub on a white roll, with olives, mustard, and lettuce please."

"Y-yes sir!" I said in slight confidence.

My parents came out of the back of the store to see the commotion, when they were greeted by Bowser. They shuffled over and my mother shook his hand. As I started to pound the roast beef with my hammers, they began a conversation. I was too nervous and paying too much attention to what I was doing to hear what they were saying. I happened to observe Violet and Ted, paralyzed with fear in their little corner. My mother was chatting Bowser's ear off about just how proud she was, and how her dream had come true, blah blah blah.

He laughed and smiled, firmly shaking my dad's hand until his colossal head turned to watch me. I'll admit I was purposefully showing off a little. I mean, I was in the presence of royalty after all. I juggled my hammers delicately, allowing them to fall and smash the meat with extreme precision. I twirled around, lining up the ingredients needed for the ultimate sandwich I was about to prepare. I began sweating into my hairnet as I carefully laid the assortment of toppings onto the bun. When I was finished I grabbed a bag, slid the meal inside, and bestowed it to Bowser, the slightest hint of a nervous smile creeping along my face. He thanked me and gave suitable payment to my mother, as well as placing a tip in my jar, before unwrapping his lunch. His eyes widened after only the first bite, growing larger and more impressed with each continuing chomp. Finally he swallowed the last bite, smiling and nodding as he did so.

"Wow! Kamek was right, this sub is impeccable! Y'know kid, you're pretty good with those hammers. Ever thought of using them in combat?" He didn't give me time to process anything he said, let alone respond, before handing me a purple piece of paper.

"Usually we don't let too many people in around this time, as we're pretty full, but we're allowing one person to join before we close admissions."

He thanked us for the meal before exiting to face the roaring crowd. Once he was out of sight, Ted, Violet, and my parents huddled around me to see what the flyer said.

 _ **"Welcome one and all to BOWSER TOURNAMENT!"**_

 **"A tournament hosted by Lord Bowser himself, along with the other Head Generals of Bowser's Army! Prince Bowser Jr., The Dark Sorcerer Kamek, His Darling Wife Kamella, Mr. Cool Himself Lakilester, and The Fearsome King Bomb-Omb will all be there to observe as 8 hand-picked applicants duke it out! Whoever wins the Finals will get the opportunity to join Bowser's Army!"**

Underneath the dark, bold, italicized, text was a picture of a Goomba and a Koopa posing under a rather large trophy. We all silently looked at each other, still slightly in shock, until Ted began literally jumping for joy.

"This is it! This is our chance! This is MY chance!" He kept jumping and running around the empty deli as people started to shuffle back in. Eventually he halted mid-circle and looked up at us.

"Well?" He asked.

"Well what?" I responded.

"We'd better get training! Where do you think Axel is?"

"No, we shouldn't interrupt Axel while he's working." Violet chimed in.

"Plus I have to work too." I added.

"Oh Axel doesn't really care about his job, he says so all the time. Now come on!"

After this my mother and father put their hands on my back.

"Son-" My father began.

"We know that this is what you want to do. And even though it's dangerous-"

"-and a lot of people will be sad to see you go." My sweet mother interrupted.

"-if you think this is what you need to do then we support it." He continued.

I looked over at my small, fragile mother who looked happier than the day I told her I'd start working for her.

"Thanks, Mom, Dad. Alright, let's go get Axel. Violet, you've been out-voted." I quickly jumped up and high-fived Ted, who needed to stand on a stool to reach my hand. We rushed out the door, Violet letting out a quick sigh before flying out after. We ran down the streets of Bro Town, still hearing a commotion coming from wherever Bowser had made it to. We raced on over to Paratroopa Park where Axel was emptying garbage cans.

"Hey Axel!" I yelled, running up to him.

Axel was a Black Yoshi, who was about 60, with the grittiest voice imaginable. He used to be the Chief of Police in the city, however quit due to an injury. Now he resides as a sort of a janitor, cleaning up the streets of Bowser City.

"Ah! My 3 greatest friends!" He said in his low, grizzly voice.

"Hey, how's the knee?" Violet asked, out of breath from how fast she had to fly to get to us.

"Oh same as usual. So what brings you kids here? Carl, shouldn't you be working at the deli? I was thinking about grabbing a bite on my break..."

"Nope, too important! Bowser-huff- came to our-huff-"

"You really need to get in better shape." Ted mocked.

"Bowser what now?" Axel continued.

"He came to the deli!" I said as I finally found my breath again.

"You don't say! Well that's incredible! What'd he get?"

"Roast beef on white, olives, mustard, and lettuce; not the point."

"Why are these the things you remember?" Violet interrupted.

I rolled my eyes before going on with the conversation.

"Regardless, he gave me this flyer once he saw me with my hammers."

I began to hand Axel the flyer before he pushed my hand away.

"No need, I've already seen it. Who do you think hung them up all around town?" Axel explained in a sarcastic manner.

"Oh, right. Anyways, we wanted to see if you'd help us train?"

"Oof, I don't know. Old Horace has really been acting up lately." As he said this he sat down on a nearby bench, rubbing his aching knee.

"Oh we know about Horace, but can you at least teach us like, some moves or something?" Ted added, inserting himself into the conversation.

"Well, you can start by cleaning off this fountain." He threw a dirty rag at Violet who dodged in disgust.

"I will, but only because we're friends." Violet said, picking up the disgusting towel with the least amount of fingers as possible.

"But you all have very different fighting styles, with varying weaknesses and, and..." He thought for a moment.

"Fine..." He sighed. Not in a grumpy way, but a sigh of defeat.

"It's only a week away, but here's what I can do. I could give each of you 2 days of training before all of us meet one last time the next. That sound good?" Axel asked, taking the rag from Violet. (Much to her relief.)

We nodded, starstruck expressions plastered on our faces.

"Good. Now I'll start will Violet, then Ted, and then Carl to finish up, y'hear?"

"Oh thank you!" I exclaimed.

"No problem, now you get back to work. Violet, I'll see you tomorrow for day one of training." Axel said with kind a smile.

"Thanks again, Axel!" Violet remarked, floating away with us.

We returned to the deli, conversing about the days that would follow and all the training we would be participating in. My friends went home while I finished my shift.

That night I didn't sleep a wink. Even though I wouldn't be training for another 5 days, I was still excited regardless. The next day Ted showed up, but for the first time in awhile he didn't have some crazy strategy to try out.

"As good as Axel is, I think you're giving him too much credit. He's not going to magically make you an ultimate fighter in 2 days. He's probably just going to teach us a few basic strategies before sending us to die in the Lion's Den." I informed him, smiling to a customer who was walking out.

"I guess you might be right, but I still trust him. He was head of the BCPD for 30 years. Shit he's even friends with Bowser!"

"That doesn't mean he's ever been a Hammer Brother before. Or a Spiny, or a Flutter. He was good because of HIS strengths. He could eat criminals, he could flutter jump, and all sorts of other things. He probably knows little to nothing about how a Hammer Brother works."

"You're being negative again, Carl. Relax, he's going to train us as much as he can so we can do our best."

"You're right, it's not like we're going to win anyways." I moped, avoiding eye contact.

Ted gave me a foul look when I added that last part, however chose not to say anything; opting to instead just continue to nibble on a piece of free ham I gave him. That day passed and at almost 5 in the afternoon Violet proved me dead wrong. She walked (for the first time I'd ever seen) into the building, exhausted and absolutely drenched with sweat. She was covered in dirt and looked purely weak.

"How was it? What'd he teach you?" Ted asked, barely able to contain his excitement.

"He taught me... all sorts of things." She began, slumping into a chair.

"I had no idea a Flutter could even do things like that. Although I suppose I've never really thought about it before..."

"Like?" I questioned, sitting in a stool to rest before the dinner rush.

"It's not like I would tell you. We'll be fighting against each other, you know."

"Ugh, fine." Ted sighed, getting up.

Violet joined him and they left for the night. The next 3 days were similar, with Violet and Ted coming here more tired than they'd ever been in their lives. Naturally, I was nervous when it was finally my turn to exit the deli on my first day of practice. The streets felt infinite in their length as I twisted and turned the darkened streets of the city. I returned to Para Park where I had met with Axel just a few days earlier. The overhead sun was beating down on me as I saw the black outline of my dear friend sitting atop his signature bench.

"Hey there kid, you ready?" He questioned, noticing me standing next to him.

"I guess I'm as ready as I'll ever be." I replied, sitting down beside the old man.

"Y'know, don't tell them other two, but I see the most potential in you." He commented, tossing out chunks of stale bread for some nearby birds to feast on.

"R-really?" I stammered.

"Really. You act like you've never seen yourself use those hammers before."

As he said this I looked down at the worn-out looking hammers I was using and carefully inspected them.

"You've got to give yourself more, no, ANY credit kid. You're good at what you do, and you're going to be of great service to Lord Bowser."

"I guess so."

He looked at me with deep concern.

"Say it."

"What? No, I-you already... did for me."

"We're not going to start unless you say it."

"*sigh* I'm good at what I do, and I'm going to be of service to Lord Bowser."

"Good! See was that so hard?"

"No..."

"Now come on, I'm going to show you 3 different ways to can use those hammers of yours."

"3? There's no way there's 3."

"I swear on my life. Now the first thing you can do is the obvious one, just throw them at your opponent. With enough power and accuracy you can really do a number to your enemy with a nice solid throw." He explained.

"I see."

"Here, try throwing one of those at that stack of boxes over there." The man instructed.

He pointed towards a tower of cardboard boxes he had set up to the right of the fountain. I did as I was told and as the hammer spiraled through the air, the sharp end of it sliced a hole right in the center of the top box. I stood there in awe as the tower toppled to the ground.

"See? Not just good for meat. Now, for the second thing you can do."

The rest of the day was similar. He taught me how to stab an enemy in the head which was.. disturbing to the watermelon he used to demonstrate. Finally he taught me how and where to smack people with the flat side of the hammer head. By the end I was just as exhausted as my friends before me. I trudged home drained of power, yet a deep passion burning within my heart. That may have been the urge to vomit, however.

After Ted and Violet made the same "witty" jokes I had made at their expense, I went to sleep at the early time of six in the afternoon. The sleep I received was pure heaven, and I was perfectly ready for more by twelve o'clock noon the following day.

Today Axel taught me about agility.

"Agility is the most important skill to people like us. I need to be speedy otherwise my opponents would predict my every move. They'd not only be able to crack the eggs I threw at them, but they'd also be able to crack me. Well, and my skull." I giggled in response.

What followed was more intense training in the art of combat, specifically defense. Defending myself, dodging attacks, counterattacking, the whole nine yards. By the end I was completely ready for the tournament.


	2. Chapter 2: Bowser Tournament

**CHAPTER 2: Bowser Tournament**

I woke up the next day fully rejuvenated from my previous day's training. I ran down the stairs, through the back room of the deli, and over to Para Park to meet everyone else. They were already there intently waiting for me.

"Ah! Carl, come on over here!" Axel yelled, ushering me to his usual seating area.

I sat down next to them as Axel gave us our final pieces of advice.

"You've all worked very hard the past two days, so I just wanted to say how proud I am of all of you. If it were up to me I'd let you all in. Sadly, however, that's not how this works. This will be the hardest thing any of you have ever done in your lives. Not just the tournament, but being a soldier. Fighting will become your life, your being. Your fellow soldiers will become your dearest friends who could die at any moment, same goes for you. Now not a lot of people in Bowser City are very active fighters, which means that your main competition will be cops trying to make it big. Being in the Army is like, "The Show" for cops. They all dream of it. Before it got so crowded, they used to let one cop in a month as a test run. If they didn't hold up with the others, they got cut. Oh, look at me rambling. Anyways, we better get there quick, I've gotta coach you fools." He laughed as he jumped up with a pep in his step that was thought to be long gone.

"Um, Axel?" Violet asked.

"Yes?"

"How are yo-is Horace-jumping around like that?"

"I'm not going to share all of my secrets." He winked and laughed at the butterfly before flutter-jumping towards the north of the town.

We began to follow him until a Red Paratroopa in a police uniform stopped me.

"Hey, kid." He said as he tapped my soldier. My friends kept walking and talking as I tailed behind.

"I overheard what that old coot has been telling you for the past couple days. He's nuts. If you want to learn how to REALLY fight, then you can get a personal lesson from a REAL soldier. Y'know, once I win the tournament."

He chuckled and flew off, along with a small crowd of people down Bro Street. I followed them to where there was usually a grassy hill, leading up to a path to Bowser's Castle. Of which, naturally, is heavily blocked off and guarded. Today, however, there was a rather large stage at the top of the hill, with a small little roped off arena at the bottom. On the stage was all of the Top Generals of the Army, as promised on the flyers. The crazy cool Lakitu: Lakilester, the Magikoopa duo of Kamek and Kamella, the fair and just ruler who puts his servants before even himself, King Bomb-Omb, and finally: Prince Bowser Jr. They were sitting in their own chairs on the stage with Bowser in a sort of makeshift throne. The now decent sized crowd surrounded the arena as our King surveyed the area. Eventually he stood up and grabbed the microphone that was in front of him.

"Welcome, citizens of Bowser City!" He roared.

The crowd cheered in excitement before he could continue.

"Hey guys, sorry." I half-yelled up to my friends, running to catch up to them.

"Ssh, don't miss it!" Ted whispered, not taking his eyes off the stage.

"Today, 8 fighters will compete against each other for the chance to get into my Army!"

Once again the crowd applauded, a few screaming random threats and compliments.

"So, here to introduce these fighters: General Lakilester!" Lakilester got up and floated up to the stand as Bowser sat back down in his chair.

"What's up Bowser City?"

"We love you Lakilester!" Lakilulu screamed from the side of the stage.

"Haha, thanks, Lulu. Anywho I'm here to announce the fighters, lets get to it already. First we have... Samuel the Goomba!" People clapped as a Goomba with a red and white polka dot bowtie raced up on stage. He smiled as Lakilester continued.

"Next, as a recomendation from Lord Bowser himself, man that's cool, give it up for our next three contestants: Carl the Hammer Brother, Violet the Flutter, and Ted the Spiny!" The three of us gasped as we, too, ran up on stage next to Samuel the Goomba. When I got up there Bowser looked over to me and smiled.

"I can't believe this is really happening!"

I looked around before noticing that Samuel had whispered to me.

"Yeah, it's pretty great."

"No hard feeings if we go against each other, ok?" He said, tapping my foot with his shoe in a fistbump like manner.

"Yeah, no hard feelings." I gulped.

During our conversation Lakilester had announced a Bomb-Omb named Shelby and a Gushen named Wallace.

"Next on the docket is, from what I hear, the best cop in Bowser City: Vincent the Paratroopa!"

As he made his way up to join us I groaned, realizing that it was the same Paratroopa from earlier.

"And finally I am mega super proud to announce our final contestant! Friend, comrade, cool dude, and excellent fighter, re-introducing... Axel the Yoshi!"

Violet, Ted, and I gasped yet again as Axel flutter-jumped on stage next to us.

"Axel?!" The three of us asked in unison.

"Hey there kiddos."

"What about being our coach?"

"Nah nah, I'm here to see how much you've grown."

"Grown?" Ted pondered.

"I've known you since you were all little kids, and now you're my best friends. I want to see how far you've come."

"That's a lie, isn't it?" Violet said.

"*sigh* You kids know me too well. I'm not here just because of that... My life doesn't have purpose anymore. I went from the best cop in town to a shell of a man, picking up peoples garbage. I want you all to make it, but I just want my last few remaining years knowing I either have a reason to live, or know that l've tried."

"Wow... and Horace?" I asked in amazement.

He showed me his leg which had something strapped around it.

"A knee brace and a whole lotta pain killers." He chuckled to himself as Lakilester continued onward.

"For round one, we have Samuel the Goomba Vs. Carl the Hammer Brother!''

"Good luck, kid." Axel said, smiling at me as I jumped into the arena.

I pulled out my hammers at the tiny Goomba opposing me.

"FIGHT!" Laikilester yelled as the crowd watched intently.

We stared each other down for a moment before finally he made the first move, jumping towards my stomach with his leg extended. I went to swing my hammer but I couldn't, something was holding me back. I didn't want to hurt him.

*Maybe this was a mistake* I thought as he hit my stomach, hard.

"Ooh and Sammy G with the blow to the belly!" Lakilester emphasized in shock.

The force of the kick flew me into the fence behind me as I scrambled to get back up. I focused myself and charged at him, my weapon in hand.

"And remember, nothing fatal! Man, that would suck if someone died here." Lakilester announced.

I went to smack him with the flat side of my hammer when he slid downwards towards my feet, tripping me. I fell face first into the dirt, a dust cloud forming a sort of wake behind Samuel.

"Ooh and another devastating blow to our Hammer Brother friend! Do we have the little Goomba that could?" Lakilester yelled with a look of worry on his face.

"uh bowser... are you sure this is the little dude you recommended?"

"positive."

A conversation my friends later told me about, to my chagrin.

I got up off the ground, my back facing Sam. My friends were looking at me with a soft, kind smile. I quickly spun around, launching my hammer as hard as I could. It hit the poor brown stump right in the head. The hit sent his little light-weight body flying, as the tool bounced off him like a trampoline. I grabbed my second hammer and ran over to my victim. He too had hit the fence pretty hard, however Samuel wasn't done with me yet. He hopped up to his feet and scowled at me, his bow tie cut from the sharp side of my hammer, an accompanying circle appearing on his forehead.

"Oh man that was cool! But uh-oh, Sammy is looking pissed now, he's hungry for blood!"

He jumped at me again however this time I took Axel's advice about agility and swerved to the right, sending him to the ground behind me. I went to smack him with my hammer but in defense he kicked it out of my hand, sending it into the air. I jumped up, grabbed it, and threw it back down at him. It hit the poor mushroom-man right in the head, just above where I hit him before.

"The tides seem to have turned, and now Goomba Dude is falling behind. One more big hit and he's sure to fall!"

I landed in front of the enraged Goomba who lept towards me one final time. I took my hammer and swung at him like a baseball bat, sending him full force into the ground.

"And there it is! Sammy G is down for the count, and Carl is moving on to Round 2!"

"No hard feelings, right?" I only half bragged, reaching to help Samuel up.

"fuck off." He muttered under his breath, ignoring my gesture as he shuffled away.

The next match was Shelby the Bomb-Omb Vs. Axel, in which Axel won. It was refreshing to see him fight with so much passion. Next was Vincent vs. Wallace the Gushen. You can probably guess which show off won... Finally it was Ted against Violet. It was really close, since Violet didn't have many attacks that could hit Ted's weak-spot without backfiring. She won just barely by picking him up and throwing him into the ground. It was pretty spectacular.

"It's Semi-Finals everyone!"

He took pause for a moment to point at a sign I hadn't noticed before, depicting our rankings.

"First match is Axel our favorite Yoshi paired with Carlos the Hammy Bro! Let's have a fun match my guys!"

"Must you always talk like that?" King Bomb-Omb asked in disgust.

I ignored him, despite the fact that he was just close enough for only me to hear. Axel hopped over the fence to face me, a smile on his face, although worry in his eyes.

"Remember what I taught ya kid. And don't worry about me. I'll be just fine no matter what happens. And trust me, I won't be holding back either."

He laughed his Santa-esque laugh, forcing me to smile along with. He signaled for me to go first so I pulled out a hammer. He suddenly went inside of an egg and rocketed towards me. I quickly dove out of the way, however he simply turned and stampeded back to me. I tried to jump but he merely jumped too, smashing the egg into me at full force. I flew upwards, a thin net confiding me to the circle of the arena. I stuck a hammer in the one of the holes in the top of the net and swung foward, dropping behind Axel. I jumped at him, swinging my second hammer when he turned around and stuck his toungue out. I don't want to describe what it's like to pass through an old man Yoshi's digestive system like creamed corn, but it's gross. Though I was only in there for what felt like a few seconds, I could still sort of hear Lakilester's commentating before my confided space became a large circle. I realized I had come out in an egg and quickly smashed open the back side of it. I crawled out just as Axel smashed the egg behind me. I spun around to see confusion on his face before he noticed me. I threw a hammer at him that hit his arm pretty hard. He winced, which made me feel bad, before suddenly smiling at me. I smiled too before running towards him. He jumped so I jumped too, hitting his stomach with the flat side of my hammer.

"Ooh Carl with two great back to back hits! How will Axel recover?"

That question was answered quickly as Axel made his next move. By this point I had knocked him forward so now I was underneath him. In an instant the Yoshi dove violently towards the ground. I attemtped to dodge however due to Axel's speed he hit my foot pretty hard. It was like stubbing your toe... but your whole foot. I cried out a very small amount, trying not to seem weak, and grabbed a hammer. Axel was sort of looming over me as I lay there, helpless. He stuck his tongue out however I grabbed it this time just as he started to suck me in. I grabbed a hammer and smashed his tongue before jumping away, back onto the ground. He too cried out in pain however it was garbled due to the injury. My foot was still in immense pain; meaning I couldn't get up. Axel, the both of us obviously growing more and more determined and excited by the minute, rolled into an egg and took a minute to aim at me. Just as he started rolling I too rolled on my side, causing him to smash into the fence just behind me. He came out dazed and confused, so I slowly rose to my feet just as he turned around. I grabbed a hammer and threw it at him, however to my surprise he stuck his tongue out and ate my tool. A few seconds after Axel had eaten my hammer it, just like me before, had come out in an egg. I attempted to run towards him however my foot hurt too much so I could only sort of limp.

"If you're not going to commentate then just let me do it!" King Bomb-Omb stated in his firm, kingly voice. I had been too involved in the battle to notice.

"*Ahem* Carl has quite obviously received quite a large amount of damage to his right foot, making movement difficult to impossible. This of course gives him a rather large disadvantage against his faster opponent."

*thanks for reminding me...* I thought.

Axel took the egg and chucked it directly at my face, sending me flying straight back to the ground. After removing egg bits from my helmet I got up again.

"Now seeing as we know of Axel and Carl's existing friendship, we can make the assumtion that Axel is showing mercy to Carl, otherwise surely he would have lost already."

"Alright king bro, you're bad at this, I'm taking over again." Lakilester said in disgust, ushering the King back to his chair.

*thank god...*

"It's all good my hammer headed colleague, you can still win this!"

His words inspired me to get back up as Axel rolled into his egg. I only had one hamme left as my other one was... who knows where. He shot towards me however instead of dodging I took my hammer and smashed the egg with all of my might. I cracked the egg and quite clearly hit Axel as the recoil shock was powerful. He flew out of the other side of the egg and hit the ground, not quite hitting the edge of the arena. He was still... smiling. Why? Why was he smiling when I had defeated him? I fell to the ground, half because my foot hurt, but half because I was hoping it'd be called a tie and we could both be let into the army.

"It appears as if MC Hammer is our winner twice and counting!" Lakilester announced as the crowd roared.

No dice. 2 Monty Moles dug their way over to Axel and I with First-Aid kits and started healing our injuries.

"Your foot'll be fine, kid. Just hurt it, nothing too bad; don't worry." He reassured me. After each Monty Mole left I got up and hobbled over to Axel. I stuck my hand out and he took it, getting up to his feet. I hugged him. I'm only slightly embarassed by it.

"Oh ho, thanks Carl. I told you I'll be fine. You can't get me down."

"Alright, alright break the emotional shit up I'm ready to win this thing already."

I recognized the pompous asshole voice as the cop from earlier... Vincent.

"What's your problem?" Axel asked.

"Whoa, Axel, it's fine. Just let him be."

"No, I won't. I heard what you said earlier about me. I was a cop long before you, and a soldier too."

"Obviously not a very good one, gramps." Vincent weakly retaliated, a smug grin on his stupid, smug face.

God, he makes me angry... and he obviously makes Axel angry too as I lead him away from Vincent. I sat Axel down in the front row of seats, still fuming from our previous altercation. Violet flutters over to the center of the arena opposite Vincent. Vincent started by retracting into his shell, something he did quite often in his first round fight. He bounced back and forth of the fences, Violet floating way above him. Suddenly, he jumped upwards and hit Violet right in the face. She fell towards the ground, however she quickly rebalanced herself and dove towards her shelled opponent. She grabbed on his wings and spun him around, throwing him against the net. Vincent centered himself in mid-air and retreated to his shell yet again, however this time his wings stuck out and flew him straight for Violet. He hadn't gained nearly as much momentum as before, so she easily caught onto him and threw him down to the ground.

His impact looked like it hurt a little as he popped out of his shell and flew up to Violet's height. She easily dodged a punch and kicked him in the side, just for him to grab her foot. Just as she had before, Vincent spun Violet around and threw her against a fence. Though it was a similar move to what she had done before, Vincent's superior strength caused the blow to be much more devastating. She got back up, slightly dazed, and launched towards her opponent yet again. This time the Paratroopa flew forwards too, using both of their momentums to punch Violet violently. She recoiled a bit however continued her punch, just to miss. Vincent simply turned around and grabbed her, punching her a handful of time before throwing her downwards. As a finisher he went into his shell and dove straight for her, colliding at the same time she hit the ground. A small dust cloud formed and, after settling, showed Violet's limp body and Vincent standing quite triumphantly. He had won... of course. Ted, Axel, the same Monty Mole I had, and I rushed out to make sure she was ok. She didn't receive many injuries thankfully.

"You fought really well, kid." Axel praised over the jeers of a few officers in the crowd.

It seemed as if there weren't too many people rooting for him.

"Congrats Officer Vinny! It's finally time for the Round 3! Carl the Hammer Bro vs. Vincent the ruthless Paratroopa! Let's get it going!"

"I'm nervous." I idiotically state to no one in particular.

"You'll be fine, trust me." Ted encouraged.

"I know but not even Violet could beat him..."

"Yeah you know what you're gonna lose."

Thanks Violet.

I slowly walk back out to the familiar arena. The crowd has gotten much larger. At least that's what it seems like. I start by grabbing my hammer and throwing it up at him. He dodges it, causing the tool to get in the net behind Vincent, and races towards me.

"This isn't going to just be about attacking, its about countering. If you throw your hammer, your opponent could dodge it easily. If you hit them while their attacking, then they can't dodge so easily." I remember Axel saying.

I let him fly towards me and attempt to smack him with my second hammer. He does dodge, however, by ducking. After he ducks he punches me right in the stomach, causing me to stumble backwards a bit. He retreats before flying towards me again. I attempt to dive underneath him however he retracts into his shell and dives down into me. After that attack he grabs me by the arms and swings me over his head, causing me to slam into the ground behind him.

"Oof! It seems that no matter what Carl tries, Vincent has a counter! How will our underdog little friend make his way out of this predicament?"

Lakilester seems to have a way to insult and encourage at the same time that I've never seen before. Regardless I get up and start to back away as he flies towards me again. Apparently he only really has 3 attacks: grabbing, punching, and spinning around in his shell. This time I duck and grab his leg. I pull him down to the ground however he goes into his shell and smashes my face against his shell. Finally he grabs me and throws me against the fence on the other side of the arena. I was officially down.

"Ohh! And that's it! Vincent is officially the winner of the tournament!"

A decent amount of people cheered, some booed, and a good percent walked away entirely.

Just as they had before, the nurse raced over along with my friends. The nurse patched up a few cuts and bruises I had and then sank back into the earth where she came from.

"Carl... I- it's ok." Violet said, patting me on the back.

"You did amazingly well!" Ted boasted, laying down next to me.

""It's ok. You lost, we lost." Axel said, standing in front of me.

"I'm still real proud of you kid." He continued.

"But what about what you said earlier? About how this was your chance to feel complete? I'd much rather you get into the Army then that jerkoff." I sighed, still laying there."

"Just give me a minute... we'll go back home and I'll make us all sandwiches..."

They all looked at me disappointingly before slowly walking out of the little makeshift arena. The crowd had left now, the generals had all returned to the castle, and Bowser was no doubt showing Vincent around the castle. I'll go back to working at a deli forever, Ted will get some job somewhere, Violet will stay as a mailwoman, and Axel will die working in his par-

"WAIT!"

It was a roar. From somewhere. Suddenly a giant cartoon-ish hole appeared in the back of the stage and Bowser was standing there. BOWSER.

"Look, kid. That cop guy? He's a real tool. I don't need a tool, I need someone who knows how to use tools." He walked over to me and held his big claw out. I hesitated slightly.

"C'mon kid, I'm willing to give you a chance here."

I finally took his hand and his sheer power nearly accidently threw me into the air.

"You and Vincent will join the lowest rank in my Army, the first militia. You'll be serving under Pom Pom and Boom Boom. If you do well in training, you'll stay, if you don't, you get sent home."

"Are you s-s-serious?" I ask.

"Of course I am. We need someone like you. Now c'mon, I'm showing you around the castle."

"W-w-what about V-vincent?"

"Eh. I left him to Kamek. He'll be dead in a week anyways."

"Heh."


	3. Chapter 3: Carl's Inside Story

CHAPTER 3: Carl's Inside Story

"So you're just letting me in."

"Yes."

"Even though I lost?"

"Yes. Look, don't question this too much. Just follow me."

"Y-yes sir!"

I was walking next to, well now slightly behind, Bowser. My King. He was leading me to his castle. I would become a real actual soldier. We could spend all day together, planning battle strategies and... Alright maybe that's a bit too far. We continue walking down the long, winding dirt road in silence for another minute, until arriving at a large dark purple gate.

"State your- oh! Hello Lord Bowser! You have returned slightly later than anticipated!" Said a strange Koopa in matching purple armor. Both his shell and the top of his helmet had spikes, with the front of the helmet coating his eyes in a thick shadow. Only his red pupils were showing and it was really freaking me out.

"Yes, good evening soldier." Bowser responded.

"H-hi." I said, stupidly.

"Is this the guy you were talking about?" The scary figure asked.

He had turned around and unlocked the gate, now pushing the big doors open. They made a loud, rusty creaking noise, followed by a slam when they were fully opened.

"Yes this is him, thank you." Bowser ushered me forwards and I obliged, catching another quick look of the purple doorman.

"That's the Koopinator. He's nice unless you disrespect his honor. He'll fight you over it and trust me, he'll win."

We waltzed right in through the big purple (why is everything purple?) doors to be greated by a swarm of people.

"Sir! You've returned!" A random Bomb-omb cried.

"Sir we've received a letter stating that your vacation home on Vibe Island will be repossessed soon!" Another Goomba with glasses added.

"Yes, yes, hello everybody. Tell the bank that I'm Bowser for Bowser's sake, I'll pay it when I damn well feel like it! Oh and be sure to pay the bill if you're on the phone with them already."

"Yes sir!" The nerdy Goomba replied.

"Bark!"

Suddenly something small ran up and tackled me, touching me repeatedly with a thin piece of metal.

"WHAT IS THAT?" I accidently yelled.

I heard a few people snickering as Bowser seized whatever it was and ripped it off of me.

"Calm yourself, Carl, it's just our dog: Mecha-Chomp."

I stood up and got a better look at it, realizing the piece of metal was it's tongue. It was a rather small grey, robotic dog with a long, white, tube shaped neck. Bowser opened the front doors and let the ravenous beast run around freely.

"Oh, heh." I mumbled as I struggled to get back up to my feet.

People were still giggling to themselves as Bowser led me down a hall, still waving at random people.

"Ignore them, it's ok. Mecha can be kind of startling."

I was only half listening to him as we continued to walk. I peered inside of doors, seeing Goombas and Koopas living their lives. The floor beneath us was solid brick, the same dark purple as the rest of the castle. There was the sound of hustle and bustle within the individual rooms themselves, however the hallway was eerily quiet. Almost like the rooms were sound proof. The place was massive. You could have stacked 4 of me on top of each other and you still would only barely touch the ceiling. Bowser loomed over me, however even he wasn't tall enough to touch the top of this floor. I snapped my neck to look back at him as he began showing me important locales.

"So this is the cafeteria!" He proudly announced, taking a sharp left through an absoluetely ginormous rectangular opening.

Inside were tables and chair galore. Hundreds upon hundreds of people were inside, it was absolutely insane. The room seemed as big as a whole city block. When entering the room from the hallway the entire front and right walls were all huge glass panes, letting in waves of sunlight that illuminated the room. This signified that the castle ended soon, as I could see people fighting in an arena through the windows. Though I'd only been in the castle for 5 minutes tops, the light was refreshing compared to the dark, candle-lit halls. The cafeteria was, to my surprise, grey. The ceilings and floors were made up of dark grey stone tiles. Bowser urged me over to the left of the room where I could see a Cheep-Cheep with a chef hat. He was frantically hopping around the kitchen, cooking food and giving it to people. I know the feeling. We peered in through the area where he scooped the food to serve it to people.

"Ah, hello Chef Shimi! Working hard as always, no?" Bowser greeted.

"Mellow King Bowser! How are too?" The fish said in an odd reply.

"And who is dish? Is he new? Oh, too know, the people all mend to together." He sadly explained.

"Yes, he is new. This is Carl."

"Hi." Once again I sounded either stupid or shy. I didn't necessarily like either.

"Oh! Yes, mellow my friend! Welcome, welcome! I hope too emloy it here!" He cried. His voice was sort of loud and sounded kind of... unnatural.

"Well, we best keep moving, we still have quite a lot of ground to cover!"

The chef rapidly waved his fin and Bowser waved back. He walked me back out into the hall to continue onwards, with a few people standing at attention as he passed.

"Don't worry, he's fine. His native language is Cheep-Cheep, and he's still not too comfortable with English yet. He'll get the hang of it."

We walked for a few seconds until we finally made it to the end of the castle. There was a large door leading to the fields, stairs to the left, and a square entrance to a room to the right. He walked me into the once again bright room. More glass panes lined the left-hand wall, with endless chairs underneath. More chairs and a few paintings were on the back wall next to us. Past both of the rows of chairs were identical doors with small windows on the tops. In the top right corner was a large half-circle desk. There was a Ukiki, essentially a small and sort of weird looking Monkey, in a nurse's outfit sitting behind it. Above the desk was a sign with a large Red + on it, indicating it was a hospital of sorts. She was typing on her computer before she heard the clickity clack of Bowser's claws and looked up. She greeted us with a smile before asking:

"Hello Bowser, how may I help you?"

"Oh just showing this new Hammer Brother around."

"Is he the winner of the tournament?"

I frowned in frustration, something I think Bowser noticed as he quickly forwarded the conversation.

"Well, haha, sort of. Anyways Nurse Ukiki, it was nice seeing you."

"You too King Bowser!" She yelled after us, then turning to help a rather hurt looking Koopa.

"So that was the Hospital Wing, if you hadn't noticed. You'll be there often, trust me. Today was sort of an off-day due to the tournament, but usually it's packed in there." He explained, now going through the large door leading outside.

"But what about the upper 2 floors of the castle?" I asked with mild concern.

He turned to face me. "Well the first floor I showed you is the main living area for higher-ups, and the amenities used by everyone. The second floor is mostly boring office places, where people handle accounting and such, and the top floor is off-limits to most people, with a few exceptions. And I guess there's a rather small weapons area and some extra housing in the basement, but it's not worth more than a mention."

His answer was longer and more useful than expected, so I quietly followed him outside without another word. The sudden sharp wind startled me, however was rather refreshing. The breeze ruffled Bowser's hair, which made me giggle to myself under my breath. It was late Summer/Early Fall so chilliness was expected. I guess I hadn't noticed earlier, as the adrenaline kept me warm. In front of us was an arena that looked similar to a soccer field, a large rectangle with a line across the middle. Lining the back fence were 3 medium-sized buildings, all numbered. On the left was a large circle painted on the ground, similar to the previous arena. I was unsure what it was used for but simply glossed over it, now noticing the huge jungle (D.K. Jungle) out beyond the chainlink fence protecting the castle. To the right was nothing much except a view of the terrifying Evershade Valley, layered with thick, dense fog. Bowser walked towards the building on the left, numbered 1, and I followed.

"This will be your living quarters! Pretty nice looking, huh?" He chortled.

He was only half right. All 3 of them were beige sandstone, with red lining and roofing. There were exactly 5 windows on each of the 4 floors, at least on the front of the building. Each one had pretty velvet curtains covering them. It looked a little beaten up, but was in pretty nice shape. I didn't care, however. I was simply in awe at everything in this place. From purple to beige, the Koopinator to Chef Shimi (Alright maybe the dog wasn'y my favorite, but still), everything was absolutely perfect. I heard faint talking in the otherwise quiet field. I spun around to see Kamek, leading Vincent over to us.

"Over here is wh-" Kamek's nerdy voice started, however was rudely cut off.

"This is why I got stuck with this geek? You were too busy showing this loser around? I kicked his ass, why is he even here?" Vincent questioned.

I chose to ignore his comment about me. I wasn't sure he had a real goal, I think he just wants to be an asshole. In that one short piece of dialouge he had managed to insult 3 people simultaneously, something I would find impressive from any other person. Bowser didn't ignore his comment or seem to find it impressive, as he got real close to Vincent's tiny face. Their noses touched, Bowser's heavy breath visably blowing directly into the Paratroopa's nostrils.

"How dare you disrespect me directly to my face, soldier. You're on awfully thin ice for having just got here, you understand?"

This was the first time I'd seen Bowser genuinely mad since I met him, despite the general stigma other places have given him. He is harsh to some, sometimes incidently, however he isn't some sort of tyrant. I guess it's possible it's a facade, however in press conferences, on TV, during town meetings, and even here today, he always seems so kind. It seems as if he really cares about his subjects. And that's something I can stand behind.

"Y-yes sir." Vincent weakly responded, backing away from his turtle ruler.

"Good, now I think less sass will get you quite far here."

The king turned to me.

"As for you Carl, I'm sad to say I'll be leaving you here. I have business to attend to, however I have no doubt you will thrive here."

He put his massive, scaley arm on my shoulder.

"You seem quite promising, don't disappoint me." Bowser stated, putting far too much literal and figurative pressure on me.

Before I could answer Bowser ushered Kamek towards the castle, leaving Vincent alone with me. He quickly smacked me in the back of the head, causing me to temporarily lose my balance. He entered the front doors of the living quarters as I stood there, baffled. This was a lot to take in all at once. I nervously followed my enemy into the building I was to stay in. To my surprise there was no purple in side, except for a few vases. It was the nicest place I had ever seen before, and I had just come from a castle.

Directly inside the doors was a small sitting room, where Vincent was talking to a red Bullet Bill with a clipboard. The only other person in the room was a Paragoomba sitting in a chair. As with every other area I had seen so far, the entire place had a theme: red. Well, more of a maroon to be exact. Every. Single. Thing. Was. Maroon. The carpets were soft and squishy, red with pretty black patterns. The walls were painted red, from the sitting room to the hallway, everything. The chairs were maroon, the small tables were maroon, the flowers in the vases were roses. Maroon doesn't even sound like a word anymore! I looked up to see if there was a red ceiling, however instead of the ceiling the entire shape of the room was empty all the way to the top, with balconies on each of the 2 floors above us. A chandelier hung from the very top, the crystals shimmering in the light. As soon as Vincent was done talking to the Bullet Bill, he disappeared into the candlelit hallway and out of sight. Before I could move towards the bill, it came to me.

"Hey!" He said in a deep voice.

"My name is Bill. You must be the second new guy, Shet Fur Brayns, is that how it's pronounced?"

I stared at him with both a confused and irritated look.

"I'm sorry, did I not say it right?" He asked with genuine concern.

"That Paratroopa, Vincent, told me that was your name."

Now it all made sense.

"No my name isn't Shit For Brains, it's Carl."

Bill looked just as confused as I did, looking down at his clipboard. Suddenly it seemed to click into place and he erased the fake name, replacing it with the correct one.

"Oh my god! I'm so so sorry! I'm a bit slow sometimes, I can't believe I didn't notice that! I'll report this to Bowser immediatly. Your room is 3J. Man are you lucky! You'll be able to find it just fine." He looked embarassed, although his cheeks couldn't get any redder.

"Thank you, very much." I said, shaking his hand.

"You're welcome! Sorry again." he apologized.

"It's fine." I said behind me.

I was now walking down the hall, observing all of the numbered doors. They were all 1 and then from A to J, each door on alternating sides. It started with 1J, meaning my room was the closest to the balcony on the top floor. Bill was right, I was lucky. I entered the elevator at the far end of the building and clicked for 3. I exited and finally made it to the last room on the left hand side: Room 3J. I cautiously opened the door and found an amazing room. First of all there was no red. None. That already made this room outstanding. The room was rectangular, longer from the front of the building to the back than from side to side. The color theme this time was teal, and blue in general. The floor was a nice, light but not too light oak wood flooring, with a bright teal area rug covering a fair amount of it. The walls and ceiling were the same teal as the rug, and so was my favorite part of the room: the canopy bed. It looked so lucious, standing in the bottom corner of the left hand wall. On the bottom left side of the wall directly next to me was a gorgeous painting of Bowser, although the dark black and slight red of the painting did kind of interrupt the coloring of the room. In front of me there were the most beautfiul looking navy blue curtains I'd ever seen. Finally, on the right side of the room was a dark blue cedar chest and a tall lamp with a white shade. I gawked at the room, letting the velvet curtains caress my small, yellow hands. I was half-way done examining the bed before realizing something important: I had left my friends.

No doubt it had been at least an hour, maybe more. I wanted to go see them, tell them everything. I quickly sprinted out of the building and into the castle, where I saw Lord Bowser, talking to the same crowd that had jeered at me earlier. He turned his attention to me when he noticed I was standing there and moved the crowd aside, focusing on me.

"Carl! Are you settling in well?" He asked in his booming yet comforting voice.

"Y-yes sir!" I stood at attention.

"Good, good, now what do you need? I apologize, I am very busy. Being gone all day really disrupted the flow of the kingdom." And then he chortled.

"Of course sir, I wouldn't want to bother you for too long. It's just that, my family and my things are back home."

He appeared as if he'd had an epiphany.

"Well of course! Go home for a night, I'm sure you're exausted! Just be sure to remind Koopinator to let you back in tomorrow, you don't have a pass yet."

"Y-yes sir! Of course, sir!" I saluted to him before running past him and triumphantly out the front doors.

I had only just then realized that I had ran through the entire castle in what seemed like no time at all. I guess time was going a lot slower than I had thought earlier. I reminded The Koopinator of my existence before running down the dirt path back home. I would have a lot of explaining to do.

"You WHAT?" Ted screamed.

It was late now, but Ted, Violet, Axel, and even my parents were all in the deli.

They were of course super happy for me. I'm sure my 3 friends were all a tad bit disappointed for themselves, however Ted was the only one to show it. I had been home about for 3 hours now, and everyone kept making me tell the story over and over. The overly bright lights of the deli contrasted with the daunting nighttime sky, just outside the window that was in front of me. My eyes were sagging, and so were everyone else's.

"I've told the story like 10 times now, I'm really tired."

"Why don't we all go to sleep, and we'll send you off in the morning, hm?" My mother suggested. My father hugged her and they both yawned.

"Oh-ho you're right. Just like always Elizabeth." Axel commented with a weak smile.

My mother blushed and we all shuffled upstairs. We all barely made it to where we were sleeping, but god my bed felt good. I really hoped my canopy bed would feel as god as this. I hadn't laid in it yet.

The next morning we all got up at 7:30, 12 hours since we had fallen asleep. I saw a sign in the cafeteria that said breakfast was at 8:00 and training was at 8:30, and I really didn't want to miss it.

"We're going to miss you." Violet remarked as I was ready to walk out the door.

"Yeah, what are we gonna do without you?" Ted joked. Well half-joked, I could tell. Ted didn't have a whole lot of emotions, and wasn't good at hiding them when he did.

"Relax, there are other food places you know. How about Pokio Pizza on Chomp Ave?" I suggested, tring to give them hope.

"Not about food." Axel chuckled.

"About you." Then he got real close to me and placed his hands on my shoulders, squeezing me there.

"We trained with the full intent that this would happen. I'm proud of you, we all are. Just go. You'll still visit, right?"

I nodded in agreement and a tear formed in my eye. I really didn't expect this crazy idea to work, especially in the way that it did. Axel noticed and began crying too, his grasp turning into a soft hug. I hugged everyone else and waved goodbye. I wouldn't see these people for another week. At least... that's when I was planning on coming home. I wasn't sure exactly how military life would be. Axel had been telling me stories since I was little, but I never fully grasped the lifestyle. But... I was hopeful that it would be everything I hoped it would be. It would, right? Right?


End file.
